Myanmar Junta Systematically Tortures 6,400 Female Political Prisoners, Rights Groups Say
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 11
Myanmar Junta Systematically Tortures 6,400 Female Political Prisoners, Rights Groups Say
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 11
Summary
More than 6,400 women have been held as political prisoners in Myanmar since the 2021 coup, with former detainees describing torture, sexual abuse and invasive surveillance continuing through last month.
Fortify Rights, which interviewed 10 former prisoners since late 2025, said the accounts show a pattern of rape threats, beatings and sexual humiliation used from arrest through interrogation and detention.
AAPP documented women being secretly filmed in showers, strip-searched and abused with metal rods, stun guns and slingshots; it also recorded 40 female political prisoners who reportedly died in custody from torture or neglect.
About 4,000 prisoners were freed after the junta-backed party's January 2026 election win, but AAPP estimated 22,064 pro-democracy activists and civilians were still jailed last month.
Former prisoners now in Thailand say the releases and Aung San Suu Kyi's sentence reduction have not changed prison conditions, arguing the junta is managing its image rather than ending abuses.
Five years after the coup, why has the world failed to stop the junta's systematic torture of women?
Is the Myanmar junta's strategy of sham elections and prisoner releases successfully deceiving the international community?
As Myanmar's junta gains ground with foreign drones, what is the future for the pro-democracy resistance?
Systematic Repression in Myanmar: 7,100 Deaths, 22,000 Political Prisoners, and the Fight for Justice in 2026
Overview
Since the 2021 military coup, Myanmar has faced a deepening human rights crisis marked by widespread abuses, mass detentions, and thousands of deaths. By early 2026, the military’s crackdown on dissent led to over 29,000 political arrests and the killing of around 7,100 people, with women and children making up about a third of the victims. The situation in prisons is dire, with many political prisoners suffering or dying due to ill-treatment. These abuses, driven by the military junta, have sparked international condemnation and highlight the urgent need for accountability and support for those affected.